Flaws
by RThenardier
Summary: Modern A/U. A story of why all the barricade boys do the things they do. E/R. Courf x Jehan. Ep/Ferre. Other pairings may be included later. Warnings: Self harm, Depression, Cancer, possible death, major heartbreak.
1. Break-up

**A/N: So, the start of a new story to celebrate Barricade day! Reviews and follows are welcome and most appreciated. :) Let me know what you think, I can't wait to write this one! :)**

**-R**

* * *

"...And so we must fight! If not for ourselves then for the future students who will attend this school! For Patria!"

Enjolras shouted, his melodic voice getting carried around the school hall as people clapped and cheered, earning a smile from Enjolras which was rare.

"Speaking of which Apollo, have you fucked Patria lately?" Grantaire spat from his usual corner of the hall, sat with Jehan, Courfeyrac and Combeferre.

Everyone's attention turned to the leader who ignored the comment and sat beside Combeferre.

Combeferre was Enjolras' brother in everything but blood, he looked after him and made sure he didn't forget to eat, drink or sleep due to stress of exams.

"Well done Enjolras my friend. We will have the students beside us in no time." Combeferre smiled warmly.

"Thank you Ferre." Enjolras smiled in return, putting his books in his school bag.

Jehan was sat next to Grantaire having his hair braided by Courfeyrac who seemed to be content until he noticed someone walking their way.

"Crap …" He shuddered as Eponine Thenardier walked over in her short skirt and ripped tights.

"Quentin! You fucking bastard, you cheated on me with Azelma! Anyone but her! What the fuck are you playing at you piece of shit?! She is my fucking sister!" Eponine landed a hard slap against Courfeyrac's cheek. He didn't fight back but his cheeks glowed red when he realized all his friends were watching the exchange.

"How could you?!" She seethed. "Why are you so cruel?" She said, a tear falling down her cheek.

"Ep, listen, the world is cruel and there's nothing you can do about it!" He argued, standing up and towering over Eponine's petite form.

"I knew about everyone! I knew about you fucking Velma Kelly every thursday evening when you went to 'tutor' her. I knew about you screwing with Glinda in the gym after school two weeks ago. I even knew about you shagging Christine Daee while Raoul was away with his parents! I told myself you'd change, that it didn't matter. But it does. You hurt me so much Courfeyrac. You made me feel worthy of love and no one has been able to do that but now you've fucked up big time. I trusted you." Eponine cried as she ran in the opposite direction of Courfeyrac. Grantaire jumped up immediately and chased after his sobbing best friend.

Courfeyrac looked at his feet, but somehow he could feel the burn of his friends' glaring eyes on him.

"Just wow Courf." Jehan sighed as he stood up and walked out of the room in the direction of Eponine.

No one spoke so Courfeyrac decided he should say something.

"Listen guys …"

"No. You listen Courfeyrac. I will take your side on most things, you are my brother. But when you pull stunts like this, you must understand I will not have any sympathy for you. Eponine is practically like a sister to me, to us all, and you hurt her Courfeyrac. You hurt her bad. Fix it." Combeferre said calmly, but with a rage Courfeyrac could tell he was holding back.

"Why should I?" Courfeyrac said before his mouth could stop him.

"Because if you don't then I will fucking rip off your balls!" Enjolras shouted as his voice echoed around the hall. Enjolras walked up to Courfeyrac and sent him the I-will-kill-you-because-I-am-Enjolras glare.

Silence followed as Courfeyrac and Enjolras tried to out-glare each other before Grantaire stormed in.

"Why?" He said calmly, though his fists were clenched tightly and slowly turning red as he stood right in Courfeyrac's face.

When Courfeyrac made no move to answer, Grantaire swung his arm round with full force and managed to get a hit on Courfeyrac's left cheek before he could hit anywhere else due to Enjolras restraining his arms.

"Why do you fucking do this?! To Eponine! To anyone! You pick people up and throw them away like they're trash! So why, who do you do it Courfeyrac? Because you think you can get whoever you like whenever you like but that's not how the world works, you can't just-"

"Shut up!" Courfeyrac shouted. Everyone was now silent and staring at Courfeyrac with wide eyes.

"Shut up! Everyone! I break other people's hearts because I can't stand my own heart being broken again!" He finally said through clenched teeth. This shocked nearly everyone in the room.

Courfeyrac was known as the guy who picked men and women up for one night stands then never spoke to them again.

"Happy?!" He seethed as he picked up his bag angrily and stormed out of the room, leaving each of his friends feeling slightly sorry for the boy.


	2. Drinking

Combeferre sat quietly thinking after Courfeyrac had left. He had remembered Courfeyrac having a girlfriend named Nancy before she ran away with another man she'd been having an affair with, his name was Bill. Courfeyrac hadn't heard from Nancy since and it broke his heart. At first, he wouldn't eat or sleep, putting on a happy facade for his friends when he was out at the Musain, but Enjolras and Combeferre lived with him and could almost see him falling into a pit of depression. Since then, Courfeyrac had started going out to clubs and bars, bring women and sometimes men home, but Enjolras and Combeferre never questioned him. Grantaire would occasionally make a comment about Courfeyrac's habits, but it was rare anyone else said anything about it.

That is, until Courfeyrac found Eponine. Immediately the group had taken a liking to the street-wise girl. She had wit and charisma, the perfect match for Courfeyrac. Combeferre would even catch Enjolras smiling at the couple who were always arguing. He had to admit, he hadn't had a clue that Courfeyrac was seeing other women while he was with Eponine. The thought made his blood boil, but he knew getting angry would solve nothing.

Sighing, Combeferre stood up, grabbing his bag as he noticed Jehan walk into the room.

"Going so soon?" Enjolras said, running up to Combeferre.

"Afraid so, I'll see you back at the apartment, I need to go shopping."

"Hey Ferre!" Combeferre turned to Grantaire. "While you're out, buy some new clothes. Those dorky long sleeved sweaters look stupid, it's the middle of summer, why are you even wearing them?" Grantaire asked, with genuine curiosity lacing his slurred voice.

Combeferre decided to ignore the question and walked out.

'If only you knew.' He sighed and left.

...

When Combeferre left, Grantaire walked to the table the rest of his friends were sat at and grabbed his water bottle, chugging down it's contents as he savored the burning sensation along his throat.

"Are you drinking vodka?!" Enjolras stormed over.

"So what if I am? It's a free country." Grantaire smirked and took another swig.

"You could get suspended!" Enjolras replied.

Grantaire shrugged his shoulders in return and went back to his drinking.

"Unbelievable." Enjolras muttered to himself as he started putting his papers into his own bag.

Bossuet sat opposite Grantaire, making wild gestures with his hands as he played charades with Joly, Bahorel and Feuilly. When they finally guessed 50 years a slave right, Bossuet smiled and stood up.

"Gotta get going guys."

"Where ya jumping off to now?" Grantaire asked, leaning on his elbows.

"I- er- that is to say, I'm seeing a- a friend later on." For some reason Bossuet looked hesitant and slightly worried that he might slip up and say something wrong.

"Okay relax, I wasn't questioning you." Grantaire laughed, but the rest of the boys looked slightly concerned.

"It's okay then guys, I'll- er- see you all tomorrow then."

"Bye." They chorused.

Moments later, Eponine strode in, wrapping her coat tightly around her shivering body.

"Babe, I know you love the coat I bought you for my birthday, but seriously? It's the middle of summer."

Eponine hit Grantaire playfully with her sleeve, despite the tear stains on her cheeks.

Enjolras walked over to Eponine.

"Hey Ep." He embraced her casually. The two had become close and formed a bond, although Grantaire would not admit it, he was jealous.

It also annoyed the boys how Enjolras would be the marble statue in front of them, but he was affectionate towards Eponine, Combeferre and Courfeyrac.

Eponine rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. "I can't believe he did it. Why did he do that, I thought we were fine." Eponine sighed before kissing his cheek softly. The boys said goodbye and soon, Eponine was out of the door as quickly as she came in.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you start to like this one, sorry I haven't updated in forever, been a bit sick, but I should be updating sooner now that my exams are done.**

**Let me know what you think?**

**-R**


	3. New job

Brown hair cascaded almost messily down her tanned back. Eponine looked in the mirror and sighed. She wore a black leather bra, matching panties and dark stockings showing off her flat stomach and slender legs. There was little left to the imagination, but Eponine had to do this, she needed the money.

She walked out of her dressing room and onto the stage as the lights lit up the room and the music started. After several minutes of dancing in her underwear, shed took a breath and walked into the audience. Men surrounded her, many shoving fifty pound notes in front of her, while other's cat called her from a distance. Hands fumbled around her ass and breasts and inside she seethed but her seductive smile never faltered for a moment because she knew she was being watched and she needed this job. She sat in an older man's lap, feeling as though she wanted to vomit when she felt him touching her body. She jumped up and strode back onto the stage before blowing a final kiss to the audience and skipping away when the music stopped.

She dragged herself back to her dressing room and stood in front of her mirror, brushing through her tangled hair with her dainty fingers. She was interrupted by someone grabbing her shoulders. One of the regular stripper girls called Mimi faced her. "Boss wants to see you in the back room ASAP, and don't get changed." Eponine politely nodded before rushing to the place she needed to be.

Knocking shyly on the door, she heard a gruff voice calling her inside.

"Eponine Thenardier. Nice to see you. You did amazing tonight." The man who addressed her was quite large, his hair was greased back and he wore a suit that looked as though it was meant to be expensive, but everyone knew he probably flogged it from some poor beggar at a charity shop. A cigar was held in between his chubby fingers and a fruity smell clung onto Eponine's body.

Eponine felt awkward but thanked him anyway.

"How would you like to earn some extra money?" He asked, taking a large puff of the cigar.

"How, sir?" She asked almost timidly.

"We had a regular client drop by earlier and he likes you, a lot. Would you be willing to offer your services?" He asked professionally

Eponine froze. She'd only ever slept with one other guy, and that had been Courfeyrac. She wasn't a virgin, but that didn't mean it was ok to sell herself was it? But then again, she needed the money.

"How much more would I earn?" She asked.

"Let's see, you get £100 a week, so if you do this extra work I'll make it £150."

"£200."

"£175 and that's my final offer." He growled.

"Could I have minute to discuss this with someone please?"

"Take your time." He grunted.

She thanked him before walking out of the room and grabbing her phone.

It rung three times before someone answered.

"Hello?" The voice sounded confused at the other end.

"Hey Taire, it's Eponine."

"Hey hun, what's up?" He asked.

"I need your opinion, but you can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Opinion?"

"Promise me you won't tell! Not even Enjolras or Courfeyrac!" She shouted.

"Fine then, I promise. Tell me."

"Right, I've got a job as a stripper" Grantaire gasped at the other end of the phone.

"'Ponine!"

"Shut up and listen!" She heard no reply so continued. "I've just been offered a back room job to fuck my clients. I need the money right now Grant, but I want your opinion, should I or shouldn't I?" She asked, biting her nails.

"Ep … Why didn't you tell us? You know I would have lent you some money, or even Enj … You shouldn't take the job."

"Why?"

"You're asking why you shouldn't become a prostitute here, I think I'm too sober for this conversation … Eponine, listen, you have a nice ass and you are truly gorgeous, you don't need to sell yourself. No low life dick deserves you …"

"But I need the money, I won't take money from you guys."

"Fine … Okay, try the job for a few weeks, but I forbid you to do it for longer than five weeks. Wear protection too …"

"You're not my mum." She laughed.

"Whatever … Can I leave now?" Grantaire asked, sounding tired as hell.

"Bye bitch face." She shouted before hanging up.

She knocked back on her boss' door before entering.

"I'll take the job."

* * *

** A/N: Let me know whatya think! :) **

**-R**


	4. Blades and coffee

Grantaire sat in the apartment he shared with Jehan, his room was plain, the only thing that would indicate that it was Grantaire's room would be the bottles strewn carelessly across the floor and the rancid smell of alcohol that never seemed to leave the room. The rest of the apartment was quite nice, almost beautiful as Jehan had taken it upon himself to place flower vases everywhere and paint the walls with bright garish colors. Grantaire winced at the color of the living room, a luminous yellow, but couldn't help crack a grin, remembering Jehan's messy style of painting. His thoughts then drifted to Eponine. After receiving the call about her becoming a stripper and prostitute, he could't seem to process what she had said properly.

Jehan then walked in, sighing heavily as he threw his bag down by the door and hung his orange coat up. He threw himself on the sofa beside Grantaire and let his head rest in the man's lap.

"What's up little poet?" Grantaire asked, stroking Jehan's ginger hair soothingly.

"Nothing …" Jehan said, closing his eyes and smiling at Grantaire's delicate artist hands on his hair.

"Don't give me that crap, tell me." Grantaire said.

"Just thinking about Eponine and Courfeyrac …" Jehan said, making Grantaire silent for a moment before speaking.

"They'll be fine, they argue all the time." Grantaire carefully reassured Jehan.

"They won't be, didn't you see Eponine's face? She looked broke, even more than than usual. Courfeyrac barely even looked guilty and the both of them are too stubborn to apologize before the other."

Grantaire didn't reply because he knew Jehan was right.

"Eponine's a stripper." Grantaire eventually said.

"What?" Jehan asked.

"I got a call from her, she's becoming a prostitute too … she said she needs the money." Grantaire carried on rolling Jehan's hair between his fingers.

"Why didn't she ask any of us?" Jehan asked suddenly, sitting up.

"You know what she's like, she thinks it's charity …"

"God help her if Enjolras ever finds out." Jehan said as Grantaire shuddered at the thought.

"Is she being careful?" Jehan asked.

"I think so …" Jehan nodded before getting up from the sofa.

"I'm gonna go check on Courf, see how he is, I got a text asking me to meet him at a coffee shop."

"See ya later my little flower." Grantaire blew a kiss at Jehan who rolled his eyes playfully as he grabbed his jacket before walking out of the door.

Grantaire sighed before taking another swig of his beer.

* * *

Combeferre breathed heavily, water dripping down his naked body as he jumped out of the shower. He picked up a towel and wrapped it around his waist before opening the bathroom door and sneaking to his room. He picked up some joggers and a shirt and walked back into the bathroom. When the steam had gone from the room, Combeferre saw his reflection in the bathroom mirror and found himself tracing faint lines against his pale wrists.

'I'm so pathetic' he thought as his eyes landed on a sharp piece of metal glinting on the edge of the bath.

Combeferre picked up his razor, unscrewing the blade inside. He discarded the razor and then held the single blade in the middle of his palm for what seemed like an eternity.

Pale lines and red lines littered his arms and wrists on both his left and his right arms. His thighs also seemed to be the canvas to many cuts, some deeper than others.

His hand was steady as he brought the blade to an untouched area on his arm. His hands shook the first few times he did this, but eventually he learned to control himself and stopped shaking. With a steady hand he swiped the blade across his skin, tiny droplets of scarlet following in the blade's path. Combeferre let a tear fall down his cheek as he repeated the action again and again until his arm had more than a dozen different cuts. Red liquid seeped down his arm, dripping onto the bathroom floor.

Combeferre gritted his teeth as he looked at the cuts, yes they were painful but that was the point. He knew he didn't want to die, what was the point in that? He just needed a way to cope. He knew he was a bit bigger than his friends and wasn't nearly as attractive as Courfeyrac and Enjolras and this led him to become insecure, often getting bullied at college. Being a medical student, he knew the dangers of what he was doing and what sort of psychological effect it was having on him, but ever since he first did it three years ago it started to become an addiction, a craving. He often wondered how his friends hadn't noticed but tried not to ponder on this.

Looking at the drops of blood on the floor, Combeferre grabbed his towel and wiped it down before throwing the bloodstained towel into his wash basket.

He left the bathroom with his trousers and shirt on, deciding to walk into the kitchen only to be startled by Enjolras who was sitting in the kitchen reading a newspaper almost silently.

"Christ Enjolras, stop sneaking in like that!" Combeferre shouted before running back to his room to throw a grey hoodie over himself. He walked back into the kitchen to see Enjolras who looked shocked before his features twisted into concern.

"You've been crying …"

"Yeah, got shampoo in my eyes …" Combeferre lied swiftly, answering way too fast for Enjolras' liking.

"Fine, I have my French speaking exam tomorrow, so I'm going to revise. Would you kindly let Courfeyrac know that should he disturb me at any point this evening with his childish antics or loud women then I will personally make sure he get's locked in a room full of spiders for an hour straight." Combeferre would have laughed if it weren't for the completely serious expression Enjolras had on his face.

"Perfection takes time." Enjolras said before picking up his bag and walking into his own room that consisted of everything red and black.

Combeferre rolled his eyes before jumping onto his couch, switching on the tv. After about 5 minutes of skimming the channels, he settled for hell's kitchen.

Around half an hour later, Courfeyrac returned with Jehan, his inky locks of hair dripping coffee onto the hallway carpet.

"Wow … what happened?" Combeferre stood up and walked over to them.

"Courf tried to hit on Maureen Johnson while she was with her girlfriend Joanne …" Jehan filled in for Combeferre.

"Dude! I had no idea she was a lesbian, she was dating that guy Mark Cohen a while ago. Her girlfriend is a douche, she threw coffee at me!" Courfeyrac argued.

"I can see that." Combeferre smirked.

"Urgh … Need shower, must get clean ..." Courfeyrac mumbled as he headed to the bathroom.

"Don't disturb Enj, he's revising!" Combeferre called out.

He got a grunt in reply and laughed before turning to Jehan.

"You staying over tonight?"

"Yeah, but I need to talk to you about something while no one is around." Jehan said, twiddling his thumbs.

"Come on then, we'll go to the kitchen, do you want a coffee?"

"Tea for me please."

"So what's up?" Combeferre asked after they sat down with their drinks.

"Erm … I really don't know how to say this … but … Eponine is a prostitute and a stripper …"

* * *

Enjolras looked at his paper and smirked, he knew it all off by heart now. The only thing bothering him was his headache, he'd only been revising for half an hour and suddenly his head started pounding. He heard the sound of the shower on, the occupant was singing the glee version of Don't stop believing. Enjolras rolled his eyes but had to admit that Courfeyrac had a pretty decent voice. He heard the sound of the kettle go off and decided he could really use a drink.

He opened his door and noticed Combeferre sit on the couch beside Jehan.

He was about to ignore them and walk straight into the kitchen, but was stopped with a single sentence.

"Erm … I really don't know how to say this … but ... Eponine is a prostitute and a stripper …"

Enjolras stopped in his tracks and stormed to his room, grabbing his signature red jacket before sprinting out of the apartment. His car screeched loudly, speeding down the street until silence enveloped the house, the only other sound being Gordon Ramsay's foul language on the television.

Combeferre looked at Jehan who wore an identical expression of fear. The moment was interrupted by Courfeyrac who came in with the towel wrapped around his waist, a look of confusion plastered onto his face.

"What did I miss?"

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts? I'm trying as hard as possible to include the other amis problems as well. Eponine has this stripper/prostitute problem, Combeferre is cutting etc etc. But again, let me know what you think, if you have any criticism or ideas just let me know :) **

**-R**


	5. Siblings

Coming out of the drive like a bat out of hell, Enjolras felt his cheeks burning red. His initial reaction was to go see Eponine and demand that she stop what she's doing but after about ten minutes of careless driving, Enjolras managed to calm himself.

He picked up his phone on the seat next to him and pulled over for a moment, sending a rushed text to Eponine telling her he was going over.

It was close to midnight when Eponine started walking home. Her hair and coat blew in the wind as she tried to hurry back to the apartment she shared with her younger brother Gavroche.

Gavroche was similar to Eponine in personality, but in looks they differed. Gavroche had hair that fell just below his collar, it was a dirty blonde sort of color and his eyes glistened with an innocent bright blue. The siblings were often told that they had the same nose but Gavroche always denied it. They were kicked out two years before by their parent who told them never to come back. Eponine was 15, Gavroche was 12 and their other sibling Azelma was 13.

Eponine had taken it upon herself to care for the other children when she was really only a child herself.

They spent two months together on the streets until one day after searching for a job, Eponine came back to the alley they were staying in and found out that Azelma had run away. The two siblings were heart broken but Eponine tried not to show it in front of Gavroche.

A few weeks later, something happened that would change their lives.

Gavroche had gone wandering around on his own and had accidentally come across a group protest in front of the local university. Gavroche, being the curious child he was, decided that going to investigate was a good idea.

This was how they met Courfeyrac.

Eponine sighed as she came up to her front door and checked her phone as a text came through from Enjolras.

She opened the door of her apartment and saw a young Gavroche sat in his filthy armchair with only a small lamp illuminating his features. He sent her a reassuring smile as she bit her lip to try stop the tears from falling.

"Hey, don't cry 'Ponine …" Gavroche immediately stood up and hugged her, wrapping her in his arms.

"It'll get better …" He tried to assure her.

"It won't … me and Courf broke up." She broke down as Gavroche steadily led her to the small sofa in the middle of the room.

"I know, I found out."

Nothing more needed to be said as both the siblings sat in a silence that would have been awkward if they weren't brother and sister.

Gavroche got up when he heard a knock at the door.

"Shit!" Eponine jumped up. "Enjolras is coming." She muttered, quickly running up to her room to change as quickly as possible.

Gavroche was used to Enjolras turning up at their door late at night, but this time he looked a state. His usually well kept curls were flying in different directions and he noticed that Enjolras was biting his lip almost nervously, something that never happened.

"H-hey Gav. I need to speak to Ep." Enjolras said as Gavroche took his red jacket.

"Not until you tell me what's going on." Enjolras smiled, he admired the way Gavroche cared so much about his sister.

"Right, now Gav, you know I'd tell you anything, but this is Eponine's business." Enjolras said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Fine." Gavroche walked into the kitchen and put on the kettle.

Eponine flitted down the stairs as quickly as she went up. "Hey Enj!" She greeted happily. All she received was a blank stare.

Eponine didn't meet his eyes as she sat beside him, twiddling her fingers. She didn't tell him that Combeferre had just texted her to let her know that Enjolras knows about her being a stripper.

As Gavroche set down two mugs, he looked between his sister and Enjolras.

"Right, I sense you guys aren't going to talk with me being here … I'll see you later Enj. Night 'Ponine." He said after Enjolras thanked him for the coffee.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Enjolras turned to Eponine after Gavroche had left, sounding almost hurt.

"Because I know you'd react badly if I told you." Eponine said, still avoiding eye contact.

"Badly?!" Enjolras scoffed.

"What was I meant to say?" She asked, finally looking up.

"I don't know! But you don't have to do what you're doing Ep, just say the word and we'd lend a hand financially." He grabbed her hand desperately, looking at her with pleading eyes.

"No Enjolras! I'm not another one of your projects that you can fix to get you extra credit or whatever. I'm a human being! Other people who are in the same situation as me don't get this opportunity, why am I any different to them?" She glared.

"Like you said, you're human, no one should go through what you're going through. So just be grateful and accept the help you need!" Enjolras stood up, mirroring Eponine's glare.

"Why do you care?! I'm making a living here trying to support Gav and me! I'm lucky I have enough money to keep my education going for the rest of the year, but what then? I need the money to pay for Gavroche to get into college! So why do you care so much!?" She shouted, clenching her fists.

"Because you're being a whore!" He replied, louder than he'd intended. He regretted his words the moment they left his mouth.

"A-a whore?" Eponine's eyes filled with tears but she held them back.

"Ep …. I didn't mean it …" Enjolras began but was cut off by a sharp slap, almost identical to the one Courfeyrac had received.

"I think you meant exactly what you said. I'm going to Taire's tonight. So fuck you!" Eponine growled, picking up Enjolras' red jacket and walking to the door as she threw the crimson jacket over her shoulders.

"You can't just storm out of your own apartment!" He called after her.

"Watch me!" She yelled before he heard a door slam and silence follow.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry, been quite busy right lately but I'll try update more :)**

**-R**


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